Page 166 of Lovely Venom

“How are things going out there?” she asks as we head to her kitchen and she puts on the kettle.

“Actually not that bad. No blood spilled, so that’s a win.”

Mariella nods as she fills the mug with water and dunks the tea bag. “You can pop over for an ultrasound this week if you want.”

“You can do that here?”

“Angelo went a little overboard when Abella was pregnant the first time,” she muses. “He spared no expense setting up a medical suite, just in case we needed it.”

“Well, that’s a relief, since I can’t leave the island right now,” I tell her. “I’d love to do one here.”

“I’ll send you my schedule this week, and you can stop over whenever I’m home.”

I thank her and take the mug, leaving her wing in a bit of a daze. I’m afraid it’s going to be written all over my face when Cristian sees me, but I just need to focus on one step at a time, like Mariella said.

For now, I walk down the corridor and out to the courtyard. Step two is sitting down and acting totally, completely normal as everyone glances at me.

“Sorry,” I murmur into my cup. “I wanted a different kind of tea.”

Cristian settles his hand on my back, watching me with those eyes that never miss a thing. I’m certain he can tell something is off, but he doesn’t ask about it in front of our company.

“We should probably get going anyhow,” Kenzie says. “I have to work tonight, but I’ll need a nap after all this food.”

I nod, and we all walk out together. Cristian and I see them off as I tell Kenzie I’ll call her later.

“You better,” she whispers as she gives me a hug. “I have so many questions.”

I laugh as Andreas ushers her into the car, clearly relieved to be getting the hell out of here. But all in all, I think it went pretty well.

“You doing okay?” Cristian peers down at me as he pulls me closer.

“So good.” I nod robotically.

Yep, that was totally convincing.

Amusement flashes in his eyes as he threads his fingers through mine and leads me into the house.

“You look like you could use a nap too,” he says.

“Actually…that sounds perfect.”

34

CHANTEL

“I have to go into the city today.”

Cristian’s words hang heavy in the air, stealing the oxygen from the room.

I blink up at him, trying to squash the immediate urge to freak out.

He’s been working from home since the boat incident because the thought of him going to the city every day made me anxious. Not knowing where Elias is or what he might do next is terrifying. But the thought of him trying to take Cristian from me is soul-crushing.

“Chantel.” Cristian grazes my face with his fingers. “You aren’t breathing.”

“I know.” I nearly choke on the words.

I hate this panicky feeling in my chest. I’ve gotten so comfortable having him here with me that I almost forgot how bad my anxiety could get.